Maya J. Berry

Maya J. Berry is an Assistant Professor in the Department of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her interdisciplinary work bridges social anthropology, performance studies, and black feminist theory, focusing on Cuba and the African diaspora.

Education: A.B. in Individualized Studies (New York University), M.A. in Performance Studies (New York University), Ph.D. in Social Anthropology (specializing in African Diaspora Studies, University of Texas, Austin).

Research focuses on racialized/gendered embodiment, political economy in post-Fidel Cuba, and black self-making through performance. Current projects examine Cuba’s 'updating' economic model and the role of Black-identified collectives in shaping political praxis. She also theorizes engaged ethnographic practices in postcolonial contexts.

Award-winning educator with grants from Ford Foundation, Wenner-Gren Foundation, and others. Her teaching emphasizes engaged scholarship and has been recognized through the 2020 Provost Engaged Teaching Award and 2021 Johnston Teaching Excellence Award.